FSA: A "Health Check-Up" for Raw-Material Farms

The Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) is a global farm sustainability assessment tool developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), which evaluates farm performance in environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability through a standardized set of questionnaires provided to farmers, and is the internationally accepted tool for food and beverage enterprises to assess, improve, and verify the sustainability of farms in their supply chains (SAI Platform FSA Official). Since its first release in 2014, FSA has covered 66 countries, 275 crop types, and more than 360,000 farms; more than 100 global sustainable agriculture schemes are benchmarked against FSA, and the current version is FSA 3.0 (released in April 2021). FSA sets three performance levels — Bronze, Silver, and Gold — issued after on-site audit by independent third-party Verification Bodies approved by SAI Platform; verification results are entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform and publicly announced to the whole of society, so any third party may independently query by farm or farm-management-group information. The FSA certificate held by Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. was issued after conformity assessment against the FSA 3.0 standard by an independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform, and the certificate information can be independently verified on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform by farm or enterprise information. For international importers sourcing Chinese natural plant extracts and food ingredients for the European, American, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets, this FSA-issued farm sustainability assessment certificate is an independently verifiable supply chain signal focused on the dimension of "raw-material-end farm sustainability and ESG due diligence."

I. Why an FSA Farm Sustainability Assessment Certificate Matters to International Importers

When international buyers evaluate Chinese suppliers of natural plant extracts and food ingredients, they commonly face three uncertainties related to "raw-material-end farm sustainability": first, the authenticity of farm sustainability — whether the supplier's self-positioning as "sustainable sourcing," "responsible sourcing," or a "green supply chain" has been assessed as conforming by a third-party verification body using an internationally accepted tool, rather than being mere market rhetoric; second, the verification channels for environmental and social responsibility — whether the supplier's raw-material farms have been assessed across the three dimensions of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability, and whether there is an independently verifiable public announcement channel; third, ESG due diligence and regulatory compliance — under regulatory frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG), and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), whether the supplier can provide farm-level ESG data support to downstream brand owners. The FSA farm sustainability assessment certificate is precisely the internationally accepted credential that provides authoritative answers to these three farm sustainability uncertainties. Its value lies not in the paper certificate itself, but in the scientific assessment system behind it — the FSA tool developed by SAI Platform, a global food and beverage value-chain initiative organization, through a standardized set of questionnaires covering the environmental, social, and economic dimensions provided to farmers, issued after on-site audit by independent third-party Verification Bodies approved by SAI Platform, with verification results entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform for public announcement, and interfacing with the OECD six-step Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) framework. The FSA certificate held by Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. was issued after conformity assessment against the FSA 3.0 standard by an independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform, meaning that the environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability of its raw-material-end farms growing spice crops such as osmanthus, litsea cubeba, and jasmine have undergone FSA standardized questionnaire assessment and on-site verification, providing international buyers with a farm sustainability endorsement that is independently verifiable and goes beyond supplier self-declaration.

II. Origin and Authority of the System

SAI Platform's Organizational Position

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) is a global food and beverage value-chain initiative organization dedicated to accelerating, through member collaboration, the widespread adoption of sustainable agriculture practices and the transition to sustainable food systems. SAI Platform developed the FSA tool, which enables food and beverage enterprises to assess, improve, and verify the sustainability of farms in their supply chains through a standardized set of questionnaires provided to farmers.

The History of FSA

FSA was jointly developed by SAI Platform members, their suppliers, farmers, and external stakeholders:

2014: FSA was first released, covering standardized questionnaires across the environmental, social, and economic dimensions;
FSA 2.1: after multiple revisions, the FSA 2.1 version took shape;
April 2021: FSA 3.0 was officially released and is the currently valid version;
2025 (expected): the regenerative agriculture module will be released, extending FSA to the regenerative agriculture dimension;
August 2026: the FSA Due Diligence Add-on began piloting, interfacing with the OECD six-step Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) framework.

FSA 3.0 Assessment Dimensions

Through a standardized set of questionnaires provided to farmers, FSA 3.0 assesses three sustainability dimensions of farms:

Environmental Stewardship: covering soil health, water resource management, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural input management, waste management, etc.;
Social Responsibility: covering labor rights, health and safety, working conditions, community relations, human rights due diligence, etc.;
Economic Viability: covering farm economic performance, risk management, investment capacity, continuing-operation ability, etc.

Bronze/Silver/Gold Performance Levels

FSA sets three performance levels:

Bronze: basic sustainability performance covering core environmental and social requirements;
Silver: intermediate sustainability performance covering advanced environmental and social requirements;
Gold: leading sustainability performance covering high-level environmental and social requirements.

Three Verification Routes

FSA provides three verification routes:

FSA Benchmark Equivalency Claim: existing sustainable agriculture schemes (such as GLOBALG.A.P., Rainforest Alliance, and Fairtrade) obtain Bronze/Silver/Gold equivalent levels after FSA benchmarking, which certified farms may claim directly;
FSA Verified Claim: issued after on-site audit against FSA 3.0 by an independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform;
GLOBALG.A.P. FSA Add-on Claim: merging FSA verification with the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA or CfP standards into a single audit, reducing duplicate audits.

Global Coverage of FSA

FSA has achieved broad global coverage:

360,000+ farms: the number of farms under FSA-verified farm groups worldwide;
60+ countries: countries where FSA-verified farms are located;
190+ crops: crop types grown on FSA-verified farms;
100+ sustainability schemes: the number of global sustainable agriculture schemes benchmarked against FSA;
12 languages: languages in which FSA core materials are available;
10+ Verification Bodies: independent third-party Verification Bodies approved by SAI Platform.

Independent Third-Party Verification Bodies Approved by SAI Platform

FSA verification is issued after on-site audit by Verification Bodies — independent third-party bodies approved by SAI Platform; the body-approval process uses AGRAYA GmbH (formerly FoodPLUS GmbH) for technical assessment, with SAI Platform making the final acceptance decision. The list of Verification Bodies and verification results are entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform and publicly announced to the whole of society.

Cooperation with GLOBALG.A.P.

SAI Platform cooperates with GLOBALG.A.P. to develop the GLOBALG.A.P. FSA Add-on (GGFSA), allowing producers to merge FSA verification with the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA or CfP standards into a single audit, reducing duplicate audits and increasing supply chain transparency. FSA verification results can be queried on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform.

Interface with the OECD HREDD Framework

FSA interfaces with the OECD six-step Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) framework; the FSA Due Diligence Add-on launched in August 2026 further operationalizes the six OECD steps (embedding policy and management systems, identifying and assessing risks, preventing and mitigating adverse impacts, tracking effectiveness, communicating progress, and providing remediation) at the farm level of due diligence, meeting the requirements of sustainability due diligence regulations such as the EU CSDDD, the German LkSG, and the EU CSRD.

III. FSA Verification Elements: A Checklist International Buyers Can Verify

The FSA verification elements correspond to the "raw-material-end farm sustainability" dimension that international buyers focus on most in supplier due diligence. Understanding these elements helps translate "FSA certification" into specific evidence that can be written into procurement compliance files:

Dimension	Certification Item	Due Diligence Implication for International Buyers
Assessment tool	FSA 3.0 (Farm Sustainability Assessment 3.0)	Assessment uses an internationally accepted tool, not self-assessment
Tool owner	SAI Platform (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform)	The tool was developed by a global food and beverage value-chain initiative organization
Certificate holder	Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd.	The certified enterprise's legal name, consistent with the business license
Assessment scope	Raw-material-end farms (osmanthus, litsea cubeba, jasmine and other spice-crop farms)	Assessment covers raw-material-end farms, not only the processing end
Environmental stewardship dimension	Soil health, water resources, biodiversity, greenhouse gases, agricultural inputs, waste	Raw-material farms are assessed on the environmental dimension, interfacing with ESG environmental indicators
Social responsibility dimension	Labor rights, health and safety, working conditions, community relations, human rights due diligence	Raw-material farms are assessed on the social dimension, interfacing with ESG social indicators
Economic viability dimension	Economic performance, risk management, investment capacity, continuing-operation ability	Raw-material farms are assessed on economic viability, ensuring long-term operation
Performance level	Bronze/Silver/Gold	The farm sustainability performance level, includable in ESG reports
Verification route	FSA Verified Claim (independent third-party verification)	Assessment undergoes on-site audit by an independent third-party Verification Body, not self-assessment
Verification body	Independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform	The body is approved by SAI Platform and carries international credibility
Verification cycle	3 years (aligned with FSA's three-year verification cycle)	The assessment has predictable continued validity and can be renewed on schedule
Public platform	GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform	Verification results are independently verifiable on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform
Benchmarked schemes	100+ global sustainable agriculture schemes benchmarked against FSA	FSA offers a benchmark-equivalency route, reducing duplicate audits
OECD HREDD interface	FSA Due Diligence Add-on interfaces with the OECD six-step framework	Assessment meets the requirements of regulations such as the EU CSDDD and the German LkSG
International coverage	60+ countries, 190+ crops, 360,000+ farms	FSA is a globally widely adopted farm sustainability assessment tool

The assessment items corresponding to these elements are not provided unilaterally by the supplier, but are issued after on-site audit against FSA 3.0 by an independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform — this is precisely the "third-party authoritative endorsement" that international buyers value most in their SOPs and supplier audit processes.

IV. Practical Value for International Buyers: From Farm Sustainability Endorsement to Long-Term Procurement Decisions

For food and beverage, cosmetic flavor, functional food ingredient, and dietary supplement buyers in the European, American, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets, incorporating the "FSA farm sustainability assessment certificate" into supplier qualification files provides at least the following practical value: First, providing a raw-material-end farm sustainability basis independent of supplier self-declaration. In international buyers' Vendor Qualification Checklists and ESG procurement policies, "raw-material-end farm sustainability" is a core ESG field for suppliers of natural plant extracts and food ingredients. The FSA certificate can be independently verified on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform by farm or enterprise information and written into ESG audit files as a farm sustainability endorsement. This complements the High-Tech Enterprise Certificate (government R&D capability endorsement), the Forestry Leading Enterprise Certificate (resource sustainability endorsement), the president-unit certificate (regional industry position endorsement), the Statistical Standardization Demonstration Unit status (data credibility endorsement), the Autumn Harvest Award (industry recognition of the R&D team), the China Light Industry Spice Industry Top Ten Enterprise qualification (comprehensive operating strength endorsement), the CAFFCI Ninth Council Member Unit status (nationwide industry governance participation endorsement), the FFC2026 Technology Innovation Award (R&D implementation endorsement), the business license (lawful enterprise existence endorsement), the food production license (statutory food safety qualification endorsement), ISO 22000 certification (international food safety governance alignment), Food Ingredient Naturalness certification (verifiable natural-attribute endorsement), U.S. IFANCA Halal certification (multi-Muslim-market accepted validity endorsement), Indonesian BPJPH Halal certification (mandatory access to the world's largest Muslim market), and Kosher certification (Jewish consumer market access endorsement) — the former fifteen address fifteen dimensions, while "FSA farm sustainability assessment" addresses the dimension of "raw-material-end farm sustainability and ESG due diligence," namely whether the supplier's raw-material-end spice-crop farms have been assessed with an internationally accepted tool and independently verified by a third party — a core ESG differentiating qualification for natural plant extract and food ingredient exports. Second, providing scientific assessment evidence across the environmental, social, and economic dimensions. FSA 3.0 assesses three farm sustainability dimensions through standardized questionnaires — environmental stewardship (soil, water, biodiversity, greenhouse gases, agricultural inputs, waste), social responsibility (labor rights, health and safety, working conditions, community relations, human rights due diligence), and economic viability (economic performance, risk management, investment capacity, continuing operation). For international buyers, this means the supplier's raw-material-end farms are not backed by a single-dimensional "green claim" but by scientific assessment data across environmental, social, and economic dimensions — when meeting the requirements of sustainability due diligence regulations such as the EU CSDDD, the German LkSG, and the EU CSRD, FSA provides third-party-verified farm-level ESG data. Third, providing verifiable evidence for ESG due diligence and regulatory compliance. FSA interfaces with the OECD six-step Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) framework, and the FSA Due Diligence Add-on launched in August 2026 further operationalizes the six OECD steps (embedding policy and management systems, identifying and assessing risks, preventing and mitigating adverse impacts, tracking effectiveness, communicating progress, and providing remediation) at the farm level of due diligence. For international buyers, this means the supplier's raw-material-end farm sustainability assessment is already aligned with the international ESG due diligence framework — under regulatory frameworks such as the EU CSDDD, the German LkSG, the EU CSRD, and the UK Modern Slavery Act, "upstream supplier ESG due diligence" is an important field in audit files, and "FSA farm sustainability assessment" provides a verifiable credential verified through SAI Platform's internationally accepted tool. Fourth, providing institutional assurance of a three-year verification cycle and benchmark equivalency. FSA verification follows a three-year cycle and offers a benchmark-equivalency route — 100+ global sustainable agriculture schemes (such as GLOBALG.A.P., Rainforest Alliance, and Fairtrade) obtain Bronze/Silver/Gold equivalent levels after FSA benchmarking. For international buyers, this means the supplier's farm sustainability assessment carries a three-year continued-validity expectation and can be benchmarked as equivalent to other sustainable agriculture schemes — providing institutional assurance for the "continued sustainable compliance of raw-material-end farms" clause in a Long-Term Agreement (LTA), while reducing duplicate audits and compliance costs.

V. About Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F

Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd. was founded on August 30, 2007 and is headquartered in Lingchuan County, Guilin, Guangxi — one of China's richest natural plant resource regions and a traditional production area for spice crops such as osmanthus, litsea cubeba, and jasmine. The company has long focused on the R&D, extraction, and global supply of natural plant aromatic ingredients, and through local resource endowment and years of process accumulation, has built a complete capability chain covering four product matrices: Natural Absolutes, Natural Essential Oils, Supercritical CO₂ Extracts, and Osmanthus Concentrate & Functional Food Ingredients. The company holds the FSA farm sustainability assessment certificate, with an assessment scope covering raw-material-end spice-crop farms such as osmanthus, litsea cubeba, and jasmine, fully matching its supply business of natural plant extracts and food ingredients.

1. Product Portfolio

Category	Representative Products	Typical Applications for International Buyers
Natural Absolutes	Jasmine Sambac Concrete (Absolute), Orris Absolute, Kushui Rose Absolute	High-end perfumery, skincare cosmetics, scented candles
Natural Essential Oils	Osmanthus oil, Litsea cubeba oil, Honeysuckle oil, Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum oil, Patchouli oil, Ligusticum oil, Astragalus oil, Angelica oil, Lavender oil, Orris absolute series, Frankincense oil, Myrrh oil, Sandalwood oil, Eucalyptus leaf oil, Basil oil, Cornmint oil, Spearmint oil, Sweetgum oil, Camphor oil, Pine wood oil, Vitex oil, Aglaia oil, Tuberose oil, Kushui rose oil, etc.	Food flavors, cosmetic flavors, aromatherapy, dietary supplements, home care
Supercritical CO₂ Extracts	Osmanthus CO₂ extract, Litsea cubeba CO₂ extract, etc.	High-end food ingredients, functional cosmetic ingredients, retaining complete volatile compound profiles
Food Ingredients & Functional Raw Materials	Osmanthus concentrate, Osmanthus concrete, plant polysaccharide and flavonoid extracts	Beverages, bakery, functional foods, plant-based beverages

2. Process and Quality Infrastructure

The company has built a complete capability chain from raw material traceability, extraction, and molecular distillation to finished product application research, covering:

Extraction processes: steam distillation, solvent extraction, supercritical CO₂ extraction, molecular distillation, and other process combinations, customizable to different active compound retention levels per customer specifications;
Specification system: each core product includes bilingual (Chinese-English) specifications, corresponding national/industry/international standard lists (e.g., GB 1886.264 Osmanthus Absolute, GB 1886.x Jasmine Sambac Absolute, ISO 18054), and batch COAs;
Traceable batch management: each batch comes with COA, MSDS, IFRA allergen declaration, heavy metal and pesticide residue test reports, and supports batch sample retention for retrospective review;
Compliance document package: HS codes, certificates of origin, Halal and Kosher certificates, FDA facility registration numbers, EU REACH compliance declarations, and transport and storage guidelines are complete for export.

3. International Certification Matrix

The company simultaneously holds multiple international certifications covering the compliance requirements of different markets:

Food safety system: ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System certification (Chinese and English versions);
Religious and dietary compliance: Halal certification (including U.S. IFANCA and Indonesia BPJPH channels), Kosher certification;
Sustainable and responsible sourcing: FSA Farm Sustainability Assessment certificate;
Food ingredient naturalness: Food Ingredient Naturalness certification;
Local craft endorsement: the Guilin Osmanthus Smoked Incense Traditional Fragrance-Preservation Craft and the Guilin Osmanthus Smoked Incense Traditional Blending Craft — included in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region-level Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Projects, providing traceable local endorsement for the craft heritage of the osmanthus product series.

4. Extended Value of the FSA Farm Sustainability Assessment for Buyers

Holding the FSA farm sustainability assessment certificate means the company's raw-material-end spice-crop farms — osmanthus, litsea cubeba, jasmine and others — have undergone on-site audit against the FSA 3.0 standard by an independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform. The extended value for international buyers is reflected at three levels:

Foundational endorsement of raw-material-end farm sustainability: the certificate is issued by a SAI Platform-approved Verification Body, independently verifiable on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform, and enterable in the "raw-material-end farm sustainability" field of ESG procurement policy as a core ESG differentiating qualification for natural plant extract and food ingredient exports;
Scientific assessment evidence across three dimensions: raw-material-end farms are assessed via FSA 3.0 standardized questionnaires on three sustainability dimensions, meeting the requirements of sustainability due diligence regulations such as the EU CSDDD, the German LkSG, and the EU CSRD, and providing third-party-verified farm-level ESG data;
Institutional assurance of a three-year verification cycle and benchmark equivalency: the assessment carries a three-year continued-validity expectation and can be benchmarked as equivalent to other sustainable agriculture schemes, providing institutional assurance for the "continued sustainable compliance of raw-material-end farms" clause in LTAs while reducing duplicate audits and compliance costs.

5. Verification Elements for International Buyers

International buyers wishing to independently verify the FSA farm sustainability assessment certificate information can query using the following elements:

Certificate holder: Guilin Four Seasons Sunshine F&F Co., Ltd.
Assessment tool: Farm Sustainability Assessment 3.0 (FSA 3.0)
Tool owner: SAI Platform (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform)
Assessment scope: Raw-material-end farms (osmanthus, litsea cubeba, jasmine and other spice-crop farms)
Assessment dimensions: Environmental stewardship + social responsibility + economic viability
Performance level: Bronze/Silver/Gold (as recorded on the certificate)
Verification route: FSA Verified Claim (independent third-party verification)
Verification body: Independent third-party Verification Body approved by SAI Platform (as recorded on the certificate)
Verification cycle: 3 years
Benchmarked schemes: 100+ global sustainable agriculture schemes benchmarked against FSA
OECD HREDD interface: FSA Due Diligence Add-on interfaces with the OECD six-step framework
Verification platform: GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform database.globalgap.org
Verification method: Independent query on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform by farm or enterprise information
Company website confirmation: https://www.gltop.com.cn/

> Official Verification Platform > SAI Platform FSA Official — Official website of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) · FSA column (FSA 3.0 is the current version, covering 60+ countries, 190+ crops, and 360,000+ farms; verification results independently verifiable on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT platform)

This article was published on 2026-09-12, and last updated on 2026-09-22. The article will be continuously updated.